Car-door lock.



A. A. JOHNS.

CAR DOOR LOCK.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 5. 1916.

1 21 3,651 Patented Jan.23,1917.

2 SHEETSSHEET 1- Wu Pmoom A. A. JOHNS.

CAR DOOR LOCK.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 5.191s.

H mg Patented Jan. 23, 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

f6 Q2 1 17 w i! J14 win M5010 Cit ANTON A. JOHNS, OF REMER, MINNESOTA.

CAR-DOOR LOCK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented J an. 23, 1917.

Application filed July 5, 1916. Serial No. 107,656.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ANTON A. JOHNS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Remer, in the county of Cass and State of j Minnesota, have invented new and useful Improvements in Car-Door Locks, of which the following is a specification.

This invention comprehends the provision of a lock mechanism for sliding doors, embodying among other features a yieldably supported abutment member forming a part of the lock mechanism, and which subsequent to absorbing the shock or jar incident to a forcible closing of the door, functionates to operate said mechanism whereby the door is automatically locked when it is moved to closed position.

In carrying out my invention I attribute to the yieldably supported abutment member an additional function of efiectively holding the locking element in engagement With its keeper, in which position of parts the said abutment member is held under tension by its yieldable support.

lVith these and other objects in view which will appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the invention resides in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts as claimed.

In the drawings forming part of this specification like numerals of reference indicate similar parts in the several views and wherein Figure 1 an elevation partly in section showing the door locked in its closed position. Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the locking mechanism in an inoperative position. Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken on line 33 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 1 looking down upon the locking mechanism. Fig. 5 is a fragmentary detail view of the rack bar. The. remaining figures are detail views of several of the parts.

Referring more particularly to the drawings in detail A indicates generally the side of a car and B the door therefor'which is mounted for sliding movement. Secured upon the door is a casing within which is arranged the locking mechanism for the door.

As shown in this embodiment of the invention the mechanism includes a locking element 11 which is horizontally disposed and has its forward extremity terminating to provide a hook 12 which extends an appreciable distance beyond the forward edge of the door for engagement with the keeper 13 when the door is closed. The opposite end of the element is bifurcated, to receive the adjacent end of a lever 14 with which it is pivotally associated, the lever being vertically disposed and pivotally mounted at a point in its length whereby said lever is arranged for rocking movement. The opposite end of the lever 14 is pivotally associated with a rack bar 15 mounted upon the bottom of the casing 10 for sliding movement. Cooperating with the rack bar 15 is' an element 16 rigidly connected with a handle 17, which latter projects through the adjacent wall of the casing 10 in which it is pivotally mounted, and disposed in parallelism with said casing. The element 16 is disposed at an angle of approximately fortyfive degrees with respect to the handle 17, and has a reduced portion 18 fitted within the bifurcation of the locking element 11. The reduced portion 18 defines shoulders 19 disposed beneath the locking element 11, and also shoulders 20 disposed above the locking element, the former being adapted to engage and move the locking element upon its pivot to an inoperative position when the handle 17 is rotated in one direction, while the shoulders 20 are adapted to engage the upper edge of the locking element 11 to limit the adjustment of the element 16 in one direction and to assist in holding the locking element in effective engagement with the keeper when the door is in closed position. The lower end of the element 16 is formed to provide a toothed segment 21 which meshes with the teeth of the rack bar 15, so that when the handle 17 is elevated to release the door, the rack bar 15 is slid forwardly imparting a rocking movement to the lever 14 which in turn retracts the locking element 11 within the casing 10 simultaneously with the elevation of the locking element by means of the shoulders 19. WVhen the handle 17 is moved in an opposite direction the movement of the above mentioned parts is reversed thereby lowering and projecting the locking element 11 to a position where it will effectively engage its keeper.

In connection with the above described mechanism I employ an abutment member 22 which is provided with a reduced stem 28 slidably fitted within a bore 24 in the rack bar 15, and in which is arranged an extensile spring 25 having one end bearing against double lock for the door.

the rear wall of the bore and its opposite end engaging the stem 28 to normally maintain the abutment member 22 projected a slight distance beyond the forward edge of the door 13. One wall of the rack bar 15 is provided with an elongated slot 26 for the reception of a pin 27 carried by the stem 23 of the abutment member, and adapted to alternately engage the opposite ends of the slot 26 to limit the adjustments of the abutment member. This member possesses sev eral very important functions in the contemplated operation of the invention, one of vhich is to automatically operate the lock mechanism when the door is forcibly moved to a closed position, irrespective of what position the handle 17 occupies. The abutment member engages the door casing in such instances, initially absorbing the shock or jar incident to the forcible closing of the door, and subsequently imparting a sliding movement to the rack bar 15, which in turn operates the actuating element 16 which controls the locking element in the manner hereinabove stated. When the door is locked in its closed position, the abutment member 22 is held under tension by the spring 25 in effective engagement with the door casing, and thereby tends to hold the'component parts of the lock mechanism in operative position.

Projecting from the car A is a member 28 from which rises an apertured lug 29 adapted to project through a slot 30 adjacent the free end of the handle 17 when the latter is moved to its limit of adjustment in one direction and the door in its full closed position. A padlock or the like may be subsequently associated with the lug 29 if desired, and which in reality provides a However he main purpose of the lug 29 resides in the tact that it gives notice to the person closing the door, that the same has not been properly locked unless the handle 17 is moved to a position to receive the lug, as these parts cannot be connected in the manner illustrated in Fig. 1 unless the door is in its full closed position.

While it is believed that from the foregoing description the nature and advantages of the invention will be readily apparent, I desire to have it understood that what is herein shown is merely illustrative of one embodiment of the invention, and that such changes in the construction, arrangement and proportions, may be resorted to when desired as fall within the scope of what is claimed.

What is claimed is 1. A look mechanism for sliding doors including a locking element, a lever mounted for rocking movement and having one end pivotally associated with the adjacent end of said locking element, an actuating member associated with said element, a handle connected with said member for operating the latter, and a connection between the opposite end of said lever and said actuating member, including a yieldably supported abutment for the purpose described.

2. A lock mechanism for sliding doors including a locking element, a rack bar mounted for sliding movement beneath said element, a lever arranged for rocking movement and having its opposite ends pivotally connected with said element and rack bar respectively, an actuating member associated with said locking element and having a toothed segment meshing with said rack bar, and a handle carried by said member for controlling the latter.

3. A look mechanism for doors including a locking element, a rack bar mounted for sliding movement beneath said element, a lever mounted for rocking movement and providing a connection between said bar and locking element, an actuating member associated with. the locking element and having a toothed segment meshing with said rack bar, a handle connected with said member for operating the latter, and a yieldably supported abutment member carried by the rack bar in advance thereof for the purpose described.

In testimony whereof I afliX my signature.

ANTON A. JOHNS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G 

